Steven Gerrard saw the Reds' first penalty of the shoutout saved
by Tom Heaton, but cousin Anthony missed Cardiff's decisive final
spot-kick to hand the Merseyside club their first significant piece
of silverware since 2006.
Gerrard, on as a substitute, was consoled by his relative at the
final whistle - as Kenny Dalglish and his side were finally able to
celebrate their success after a rollercoaster afternoon that had
numerous twists and turns.
Young striker Joe Mason had opened the scoring in the first half
for Cardiff in normal time, as Liverpool needed until the 60th
minute for Martin Skrtel to find an equaliser and set the stage for
an extra 30 minutes of action.
Dirk Kuyt then put Liverpool on course for celebration with an
unorthodox finish, before the Dutchman's joy turned to pain as he
failed to clear from a corner as centre-back Ben Turner poked home
a second equaliser.
That sent the game to penalties - which started in horrible
fashion for the Premier League side as both Gerrard and Charlie
Adam missed their opening attempts. But Kenny Miller and Rudy
Gestede missed for the Welsh side and, after Stewart Downing, Dirk
Kuyt and Glen Johnson had converted, a second miss from a Gerrard
decided the contest.